Recommended oil viscosity

Or use synthetic oils that are much more temperature stable...

Matt

 

20 - 50 w oil is the way to go without major oil breakdown.
5 - 30 w after say 600 miles it will be 0 - 16 W. Now thats real bad.
Brian - Las Vegas

 

They sure can pile it high in Vegas!


Matt

 

I assume you know that it is the lighter part of the blend that "burns off"
first, and as a result the oil actually goes up a grade and not down (it
gets "thicker"). If your oil is "thinner" after use it is from dilution with
gasoline and or water. What you want is adequate film thickness on the
bearings and quick pumping to oil the rings. A 0W-20 might not give you the
film thickness you need in summer Vegas weather and a 20W-50 might not pump
fast enough in the winter. A 10W-30 might be a better choice for that motor
in hot weather but it is your decision to make not mine.

Richard.

 

Not totally true, but not totally wrong either.
The light ends boil off - thichening the oil. TRhe long chain "VI
improvers" shear, lowering the viscosity, and the hydrocarbons bake,
raising it again.
The question is in the ballance - and how longit takes to happen.

3000 mile oil changes, at 3 months, pretty well get you away from a
serious case of any of the three.

 

Keep on Truckin.....

 

Actually, long term oil analysis typically shows that viscosity INCREASE
over time is a bigger problem than thinning, provided that you don't get
a lot of fuel dilution from cold weather short-trip driving.

 

I've had very good success with 4 cars and two drivers over 18 yrs.
using Duralube. Then 5W30 vs 10W30 is irrevelent.
Duralube definitely reduces wear, comparing my cars to friends with the
same engine.
The main wear difference is reducing friction when starting a cold
engine. When you put it in you can hear the difference on starting. I
did a blind test with my wife's '87 4 cyl Daytona and a few days later
she asked me why it was now much quieter on starting up.
Also on my wife's current 2001 V6 2.7L Sybring I proved a 5% reduction
in fuel consumption on a 1,200 mile drive. This compared the same drive
at 7,000 miles to 14,000 miles with Duralube.
My oldie 05 Concord now has 80,000 miles and requires no oil between
4,000 mile changes. My estimate is it would go about 6,000 miles to be
down a quart; the same as when it was new.

 

I've had very good success with 4 cars and two drivers over 18 yrs.

I'm not for nor against, but don't use oil additives.
Anyway, you my find these articles on Duralube interesting ;-)
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1999/05/duralub2.htm
http://ebtx.com/mech/duralube.htm

 

People who fall for this stuff are seldom convinced by the facts.

Matt

 

Duralube and many other additives can have their place in automotive
servicing, but very few live up to the inflated claims made by the
marketing agents. Particularly those sold on late night infomercials
and at county fairs.
There is no doubt that some of the thicker additives will reduce oil
burning in an old half worn out engine. That same additive may very
well quiet down that same half worn out engine and increase the oil
pressure. Being slippery as well as thick, it might help hydraulic
lifters run quieter as well.
Might help reduce wear on that same engine.

Is it going to do anything measurably positive in a well maintained
low mileage car? Nope.

There is also no doubt that some of the thinner additives (and even
highly detergent thick additives) can disolve some crankcase deposits,
occaisionally free up stuck rings, and get lazy hydraulic lifters
functioning again - at least for a while. The fact some can also
loosen engine deposits without totally disolving them also needs to be
remembered - as those loosed deposits can plug oil pickups etc and
actually ruin an engine in some cases.

Is there a case to be made for using them in a well maintained, low
mileage vehicle??? Not usually. But on SOME vehicles with a history of
certain problems, they CAN be effective in preventing premature
failure.

There are many additives on the market that CAN be very valuable to
the owners of problem vehicles. Seal conditioners and anti-leak
additives can significantly extend the life of automatic
transmissions, power steering units, and even air conditioners.

Friction modifiers etc can improve the shifting characteristics of
transmissions or take the nasties out of a posi differential.
Then there are fuel conditioners that can extend the life of fuel
injectors. All of these are technically additives - but are also very
effective tools in certain circumstances.

Now, an additive that will increase power, improve fuel mileage,
reduce operating temperature, all by significant margins on a vehicle
that is in good operating condition in the first place???
Generally falls into the category of "snake oil"

 

I don't buy it. I tried several of these many years ago when I couldn't
afford a real car and none of them ever did anything positive. If they
had data to prove this, they wouldn't get sued by the government for
false advertising all of the time.

They are just like the magic gas mileage gizmos. Popular Mechanics
tested half a dozen of these in their latest issue. NONE of them
provided any improvement in fuel economy or power, and a couple of them
had major detrimental affects.


Matt

 

Matt - I didn't say they could work miracles, or that they would help
a totally worn out car. As a mechanic I have used additives to the
customer's advantage MANY times. A $12 can of additive has reduced
oil burning in an engine from 1 quart in 300 miles to less than a
quart in 2000 - PERMANENTLY by freeing up stuck rings. $12 compared
to closer to $1200 to rebuild the engine. And I've seen this more than
once.
I've also had a $6.00 can of additive completely quiet down the valve
train of an engine with hydraulic lifters, instead of having to
dissassemble the engine and replace all of the lifters. Many many
times over 35 years. When the engine is crammed into a van, or a
Pacer, there is SIGNIFICANT labour involved in changing the lifters.

Then you get the real POS vehicle that just is NOT worth replacing the
engine on, and it's got a cracked or porous block, or a cracked head.
A can of "boiler sealer" like IronTite will most often stop up the
leak, and the vehicle may well go another couple of years before it
gets replaced. Is it a repair? No - but it is a "fix"

Same with transmission additives. I've had many an automatic that was
shifting erratically on a car with 200,000 or more Km on the clock.
Car was in reasonable condition - worth about $2500 to replace. Cost
to rebuild the transmission? About $2500. Cost of a bottle of Ford
friction modifier? About $8.55. If it doesn't solve the problem, it
cost you $8.55. Scrap the car.
If it works, it saved you about $2491.45. Drive it untill something
else major goes bad. More often then not, it has solved the problem.

Now, on the topic of "miracle" gas gizmos, we agree 100%. Glad to see
we have some common ground!!

 

That explains a lot. Yes, sometimes giving the customer a placebo will
calm their mind and that makes a lot of difference, I agree. If people
think things are better, they often are better. That is why people buy
the gas mileage gizmos. They usually don't even know how to properly
determine their fuel mileage and they WANT the gizmo to work so in their
mind it does work. Same with engine oil additives.

I'm not sure we have much common ground. I only believe in things
supported by data, and you seem to believe otherwise. I've never seen
any data that shows that any oil additive does anthing positive and I
tried a good many of them when I was young and foolish and I never saw
one work either.


Matt

 

Matt, you really do not have a clue.
NO placebo effect.
When, as a mechanic, I propose using a chemical fix they are told
right up front that it MIGHT work - and it might not. If the problem
is not rectified they have the choice of spending X$ or scrapping the
vehicle.

As I said before, there is no magic cure-all additive, and NONE that
will give any positive effect on an engine that is both in good shape
and running well.
There are, however, MANY very effective "tools in a can"
If you use the right tool for the problem at hand they are well worth
the money.
Try using a sledge hammer to install new window glass - won't work.
Try using a tweezers to torque a head bolt - wont work. But the
tweezers takes out splinters a whole lot better than a torque wrench,
and a sletch hammer breaks rocks a lot better than a glass cutter.

 

You should learn how to follow a thread. I was AGREEing with you and
the information in the links you provided. My comment was to the person
who believed in Duralube and I was commenting that the facts you
provided wouldn't likely change his mind. Sheesh, don't they teach
reading in school anymore?

Matt

 

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